Archive for February, 2009

Chocolate reined supreme as our ingredient of the week, while we placed a special focus on FairTrade products.
Rercy dined in Co. Wicklow’s Hollywood Inn, while in Dublin Maria Crispy checked out Tante Zoe’s and Jean chowed down in Carluccio’s.
On top of all the latest bargains and special offers, Jean rounded up some of the best… Continue reading »

Although I have been blogging for some years now, I have been a bit slow to embrace some of the other new media, such as Twitter. One of the reasons, I suppose, is that it’s hard enough to cope with the volumes of email coming at me already and to try to keep this site current and interesting (on top of making ice cream, etc.).
Still, I can’t stand the idea of everyone else out there having fun and me being left out, so I’ve decided to give it a go! Continue reading »

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Last February was my first ever Daring Baker challenge – it’s been great year and a very challenging year too but it makes me look forward to what’s next even more. Continue reading »

Chicken Cacciatore, in its most traditional form, uses the dark meat of the chicken which is fattier but has more flavor. Nowadays a lot of chefs choose to use a combination of white and dark but in my version I only use the chicken breast as it’s lean protein. The meat is cooked until it literally falls off the bone.
When finished, the dish can be served alone or over either rice or pasta. Continue reading »

Pasta experiment – New York Times writer attempts to save water and energy by boiling pasta with less water than the 4-6 quarts advised.
Interview with the ‘Orangette‘ – SeattlePi.com sits down with Molly Wizenberg, writer of the new book: A Homemade Life.
Doing something about HFCS – Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Snapple remove high fructose corn syrup from their formulas to respond to concerns over the ingredient. Continue reading »

These cookies are simple and easy to make – the batter is very quick to put together and doesn’t need to be whipped to any particular consistency. And they’re so delicious, they get crisp on the edges and the centre stays chewy.
You should be able to get Fairtrade versions of all or most of the… Continue reading »

Eamon Gilmore – Leader of the Labour Party arrived at the coffee morning that was on my kid's school this morning. He loves buns!

Just polled as being the most popular leader ever,I asked him what would he say to the people of Ireland if they all turned up at a coffee morning right now, he was right when he declared "Let the eat cake!". Touche'

Also that TV programme I was in recently can be viewed here, click on the archive dated Feb 17th. Continue reading »

Everyone needs a human touch now and again, as Bruce Springsteen well knows. It’s the same with grapes. They need to be nurtured, protected, cared for, loved and caressed. (OK, maybe caressed is going a little too far, but you get my point.

In the vineyard it is man who decides on location and aspect to the sun. It is man who manages irrigation and prunes vines to enhance concentration. And it is man who decides when it’s the right time to pick the grapes. Continue reading »

Last weekend, I took the short trip from the Cork International Airport Hotel to Curious Wines in Bandon.
They gave me a fantastic and friendly welcome and opened up a bottle of the new Santa Alicia Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2008 vintage.

Santa Alicia Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2008
A fantastic fresh and crisp zesty white from Chilean winemaker of the year. Cracking value at only €9.99 and beats the pants off anything from your local supermarket. Continue reading »

When I lived in Dublin I daydreamed of being able to head to the country, go for a walk in a cinematic back-drop and then nip to a cosy pub for a well deserved homemade feast in the perfect country setting. I now live in Wicklow near such a haven where you can nestle a… Continue reading »

Some of the offers I saw in SuperValu today:
Large pack of chicken legs half price; was €4.49 now €2.24
Buy one, get one free on Moypark Chicken Kievs, €4.19
Half price garlic baguettes, was €2.38 now €1.19
Buy one, get one free on SuperValu own brand fresh Tortellini with Spinach and Ricotta, €2.49
Half price on 200g King Prawns,… Continue reading »

The Thai restaurant Koh in Dublin’s Italian Quarter is offering a Six Nations special: you can get a curry and a pint for €11 between 2 and 5 pm, for all Six Nations Matches. Unfortunately, they will also be showing the match on widescreen tvs, but I suppose that won’t be a drawback for those… Continue reading »

My week has been up and down more than George Michael’s career. Last night I was to dine with Mrs F in McHugh’s for the launch of their new Hot Rocks steak. No babysitter. Both sisters were out themselves, with my mouthy sister down to see the Lord Mayor, and probably giving him an earful about something or other.On the plus side my mother is now free from the shackles of foot and arm casts. Continue reading »

The UK chain Carluccio’s now has a branch on Dawson St, comprising a restaurant and a deli selling their beautifully packaged, hilariously overpriced Italian treats.
Our reader Joanne tipped us off about their €12 menu del giorno, which includes a starter, a main and a coffee. You can also add a large glass of wine to… Continue reading »

Firstly a huge thank you over to Ruth at Ruth’s Kitchen Experiments, for a fantastic evening doing some fun baking. We made a red velvet cake, with cream cheese frosting. I’ve wanted to make this cake for ages, but struggled to find a recipe which doesn’t use American cups, which I don’t have. I made a valiant attempt to convert them using the internet, but it proved just too awkward; then Ruth suggested a joint bake-a-thon. Continue reading »

Alta Vista Premium Malbec 2006
Despite being one of the 6 grapes allowed in Bordeaux based blends it is in Argentina, not France, where the Malbec grape has not just succeed but flourished.
It has singled handed help bring the Argentinean wine Industry into the global marketplace. Similar to what Sauvignon Blanc did in New Zealand Malbec has succeeded in getting huge critical acclaim and mass appeal. Continue reading »

My good friend Sofie came the other day to see me and gave me this amazing book called Glamour Cakes by Eric Lanlard. He has been on telly recently with his Glamour Puds and I have to say that I was actually drooling over the telly (and I normally prefer savoury). Now I have the book and I have to say, this guy got talent. The book is mostly about decorating the cakes rather than recipes for cakes. But he gives you basic recipes for granache, butter cream and chocolate fondant. Continue reading »

Well, we have a winner. And it’s certainly not who any of us expected. Cooking the best three course meal of your life without any guidelines can sometimes be more daunting than having guidelines and that led our fan favorite to falter and our egotistical predicted winner to become, well too egotistical. I’ve complained about the outcome here, here and here, but now that I’ve sat down to write this blog, I think I have some different opinions. Continue reading »

Bottled Landlord is described as ’strong’ pale ale on the label which is a little curious because it is only 4.1% which is far from strong in my book. A recent trip to Doncaster sheds some light on this somewhat unusual nomenclature because I had the pleasure of drinking with a group of bone fide northern English blokes who loved their bitter. Continue reading »

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This November The Great Irish Bake is back and Kitchen Hero Donal Skehan is helping out with sharing recipes and promoting the event. The Great Irish Bake is in aid of helping sick and seriously ill children get the treatment they need. Head over to The Great Irish Bake to register online and be in the chance of winning a trip to New York when you help raise funds for Temple Street Children’s University Hospital. The site also has hints, tips, recipes and all that goes with an event like this.

This is the Facebook for The Great Irish Bake and of course the Twitter hashtag is: #thegreatirishbake

The Great Irish Bake organisers have shared a recipe with us and also a picture of Donal Skehan with his kids from his first marriage. Some of this might be a lie.

The Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a standalone mixture beat together the butter and sugar. Add in the egg and
mix through.
3. Using a wooden spoon mix through the flour, baking powder, salt, mixed spice
and vanilla extract until you have a biscuit dough.
4. Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and roll out to about 1cm in thickness.
5. Cut out biscuit shapes, place on the lined baking tray, then using a smaller cutter
or a small knife cut out the center of each cookie.
6. Sprinkle the crushed sweets into the centre of the cookie and place in the oven
7. Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire
wrack.

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